The battery powered units have durability issues. The Cascadias we have were so much of a problem, Freightliner changed not only the type of unit, but it's location. Most of the drivers who have the Cascadias say on the a/c side 4-6 hours max before your batteries need recharged. I have a '12 Prostar...I can get 8 if I run it on low speed with the thermostat set about in the middle(it is a digital bar display, no color or temp readout). And that is if I don't do much else that uses power like play on my laptop or watch tv. One driver in a Prostar spent most of a couple months jumping from shop to shop getting his unit to work. It would work for a couple days, then quit, he'd get it fixed then a couple days later it would quit. He's now in a Cascadia...and I read that his heater went out and had to be replaced. The heaters they use are a fuel fired coolant heater. It warms the trucks coolant then pumps it thru the trucks HVAC system and uses the trucks fans to move the air. Normally 10-12 hours before you have to recharge, and again, if you don't use too much power elsewhere. My heater is dying. It still puts out heat, but something is going bad...either the water pump or the water heater itself. But what use to be a low humm under the bunk is now a loud growl. Sometimes so loud you have to turn up the tv.
As far as idling. The truck's ecm will allow you to idle if the battery voltage is low enough, then will only idle an hour and a half to charge the 8 batteries(it use to be 3 hours, but they changed it last spring). But, Crete has a strict policy about idle percentage. In the summer, you have to keep your idle percentage under 25%, in winter they want it under 12%. Which is do-able, if your unit is running right and you have 8 good batteries. My ytd idle average right now is 8.2%(winter time I'm usually under 3 or 4%)...but this was the 1st full year with a new truck and new batteries. We will see how well they do this winter and into spring.
If you want any more info on Crete...there is a big thread called "Crete - a year in review" that is almost 700 pages that a bunch of us post on. It'll give you a bigger picture of what thing are like here at Crete.
never sleep again at CRETE
Discussion in 'Crete' started by 1casey05, Oct 12, 2006.
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Thanks brother I appreciate the info, stay safe
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Crete has lost alot of money due to drivers running over school buses and causing fatal accidents.If I was the owner of that company I would be really strick on the paperwork matching the computer.It wasnt the company but the drivers who caused them the troubles
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company, been sitting around for two weeks waiting for Crete to get their act together and get my paperwork done, times up for them. I'm now at orientation with Abilene out of Richmond Va. , nice Equip and the drivers say they have all the miles I could possibly get and drive legal. Good luck and be safe.
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